Tylenol Maintains Loyalty Despite Quality Challenges

Tylenol Maintains Loyalty Despite Quality Challenges

09/20/2010

Despite Tylenol’s product recalls and plant closure, the company still outpaces Advil in brand loyalty among consumers, according to a new research study.

The study showed that consumer evaluate brands and build loyalty to them in the same way they instinctively perceive and judge other people – in terms of warmth and competence – and these judgments are highly predictive of brand purchase intent and loyalty. Warmth includes traits like friendliness, helpfulness, sincerity, trustworthiness and honesty; competence is reflected by traits such as intelligence, skill, creativity, efficiency and effectiveness.

The study was conducted by the Relational Capital Group and Drs. Susan T. Fiske and Nicolas O. Kervyn, renowned researchers on warmth and competence at Princeton University. The study evaluated the impact of warmth and competence perceptions on purchase intent and loyalty toward eight national brands – McDonald’s, Burger King, BP, Shell, Tropicana, Minute Maid, Tylenol and Advil.

Consumers also rated Tylenol and Advil to perform equally well on warmth and competence dimensions that were shown to impact brand purchase and loyalty:

- “Delivers a consistent experience”- “Is honest and trustworthy”- “Acts with your best interests in mind”- “Is popular and recommended”

“We’ve found strong statistical correlation between consumers’ perceptions of each brand’s warmth and competence and their intent to purchase and remain loyal to that brand,” Fiske said.

Malone added: “We believe that Tylenol’s long track record of reliability has generated a deep reservoir of goodwill toward the brand and that its recent production issues have been interpreted by consumers as a temporary lapse in competence, rather than a shortfall of warm intentions towards them.”

The Relational Capital Group is a research–based, professional development and advisory services firm that helps organizations transform and strengthen the business relationships that drive their growth, productivity and profitability.